Life in America at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: Immigration, Urbanization, and Reform

1. Chapter 5 Section 3 Life at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

2. NEW IMMIGRANTS • During the 1800s large numbers of immigrants came to the US • Immigrants who had come to the US before the 1880s were often called “old immigrants”

3. Old immigrants were mostly from Northern & Western Europe (Britain, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia) • Chinese immigrants are also part of the “old immigrants” as they arrived for the Gold Rush or to work on the railroads

4. New immigrants were those that came after the 1880s and they often came from different countries than the old immigrants • New immigrants were mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe – (Czechs, Greeks, Hungarians, Italians, Poles, Russians, and Slovaks)

5. By 1910, nearly 1 out of 7 Americans was foreign born • Some people came to America for a better economic opportunity and a better life • Some people came to America to escape religious persecution (Jews)

6. The US government opened an immigration station, Ellis Island, in 1892 in New York where European immigrants passed through • After 1910, newcomers from Asia passed through Angel Island, an immigration station in San Francisco

7. While many immigrants found a better life in the US, they also met many hardships • Many lived in crowded tenements and took low-paying, unskilled jobs • Immigrants tended to live near others from their homeland who shared the same language and culture

8. REACTION TO IMMIGRANTS • Anti-immigrant feelings grew along with the rise of immigration in the late 1800s • Americans known as nativists feared that too many new immigrants were being allowed into the US

9. Nativists took part in illegal actions (violence) and legal actions (passing new laws) • In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning Chinese people from immigrating to the US for 10 years, which marked the first time a specific nationality was banned from entering the country

10. Some Americans that were driven by fear and charity wanted to help new immigrants • Americanization is the process in which immigrants were forced to abandon their traditional cultures and adopt the culture of white America

11. URBAN LIFE IN AMERICA • As cities grew, space started to become limited so architects began building up instead of out • Elisha Otis invented the mechanized elevator which made taller buildings more practical

12. The wealthy people of the late 1800s had made their money as entrepreneurs in industry and business • The middle class was made up of corporate employees such as accountants and managers, and professionals such as teachers, engineers, lawyers, and doctors

13. The working class included the majority of the people in the cities who lived in poverty • Reformers founded settlement houses where volunteers offered immigrants services such as English-language classes and job-training courses

14. Jane Addams founded one of the first settlement houses, called the Hull House, in Chicago • Most settlement house workers were college educated women who believed in the concept of social gospel – the idea that faith should be expressed through good works

15. POLITICAL SCANDAL AND REFORM • By the late 1800s, many American cities had problems such as crime, bad housing, and poor sanitation

16. Corrupt political leaders developed political machines which were organizations that guaranteed votes at election time through both legal and illegal methods • Political machines were run by powerful bosses who controlled elections by trading favors for votes

17. In return for votes and money, the bosses might provide jobs or order neighborhood improvements • Urban immigrants generally supported local political machines that provided essential services to the immigrants

18. Bosses often used their control over government to get rich • The most notorious political machine was Tammany Hall in NY City • Boss William Marcy Tweed may have succeeded in stealing over $200 million from the city treasury

19. THE POPULIST PARTY • Also called the People’s Party which was made up of farmers, labor leaders, and reformers • Called for bank regulations, government ownership of railroads, and free unlimited coinage of silver

20. SEGREGATION AND DISCRIMINATION • Southern state legislatures passed the Jim Crow laws which were used to create and enforce segregation in public places

21. The Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld segregation by ruling that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the 14th Amendment

22. Two different approaches to fighting discrimination emerged: • Booker T. Washington believed African Americans had to accept segregation for the moment, but they could improve their situation best through acquiring farming and vocational skills • W.E.B. Du Bois believed that African Americans should strive for equal rights immediately and founded the NAACP

23. Hispanic Americans also faced discrimination • Most were farmers • Many were trapped in their job by debt peonage – They could not leave a job until they had paid off their debts

24. Some laws limited or prevented Asian immigration to the US • In the early 1900s, California legislators passed laws prohibiting marriages between whites and Asian Americans

25. Native Americans had to endure the government’s Americanization policy which tried to stamp out their traditional cultures • Living on reservations gave Native Americans few economic opportunities

26. Many Native Americans did not get American citizenship until the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924